Romney Says Obama Should Be Chatting With Foreign Leaders, Not The View

On Monday the Romney campaign continued to attack President Obama on foreign policy, seizing on his characterization of unrest in the Middle East as “bumps in the road” on 60 Minutes. Romney told ABC News in Denver, “I can’t imagine saying something like the assassination of ambassadors is a bump in the road.” Republicans also stepped up their criticism of Obama’s lack of bilateral meetings with foreign leaders (and Benjamin Netanyahu in particular) during his trip to New York for this week’s U.N. General Assembly, noting that he managed to find time to tape an interview with The View on Monday. The Washington Postreports that during a Romney campaign conference call, Eric Cantor said that Obama’s decision to talk with Babs rather than Bibi indicates “a lack of willingness to lead in times of trouble.” Though Romney himself called The View “high risk,” apparently he wasn’t impressed by Obama’s ability to withstand a grilling from Elisabeth Hasselbeck while relating cute anecdotes about his wedding anniversary and White Housebeer.

White House press secretary Jay Carneycalled Romney’s suggestion that Obama is minimizing the killing of the U.S. ambassador to Libya “desperate and offensive” and pointed out that the president frequently meets with foreign leaders. “You are constantly engaged in matters of foreign affairs and national security. And that’s what this president is doing,” said Carney, according toCNN.

Though Sherri Shepherd isn’t known as an expert in world affairs, foreign policy did come up in Obama’s View appearance, which airs Tuesday. The Hill reports that Obama was asked if the Benghazi assault was a terrorist attack, which is how officials have been describing the incident in recent days. “There’s no doubt that the kind of weapons that were used, the ongoing assault, that it wasn’t just a mob action,” he said, carefully avoiding the word “terrorism.” “What’s clear is that, around the world, there are still a lot of threats outthere.”

On the plus side, Obama noted that Americans possess an impressive resilience. In response to a question from Barbara Walters about whether it would be “disastrous for the country” if Romney were elected, Obama said, “We can survive a lot. But the American people don’t want to just survive. We want to thrive.” Republicans may see Obama’s View appearance as frivolous, but it’s a relief to learn that no matter how the election turns out, the country will probably still be standing in fouryears.